Kentucky GOP gubernatorial nominee praises 'Trump culture of winning' while mocking Ron DeSantis

17 May 2023

On Tuesday, May 16, incumbent Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear — who is seeking a second term — found out who his competition will be when State Attorney General Daniel Cameron won the GOP gubernatorial nomination. And Cameron used his victory speech as an opportunity to praise former President Donald Trump while mocking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Beshear, like Kansas' Laura Kelly, is a centrist Democratic governor in a deep red state. But he beat the odds in 2019 and is hoping to beat them again in 2023.

Trump, however, is hoping that Beshear will be a one-term governor. And Cameron acknowledged Trump's support after winning his party's nomination.

During his speech, Cameron declared, "Let me just say: the Trump culture of winning is alive and well in Kentucky!"

The remark was an obvious reference to comments that DeSantis made during a weekend visit to Iowa on May 13. The far-right Florida governor, who will go up against Trump if he enters the 2024 GOP presidential primary, told Iowa Republicans, "We must reject the culture of losing that has infected our party in recent years. The time for excuses is over. We got to demonstrate the courage to lead and the strength to win."

DeSantis' cheerleaders, including firebrand author Ann Coulter, have been arguing that he would have a much better chance than Trump of defeating incumbent President Joe Biden in 2024. But Cameron declared his loyalty to Trump, not DeSantis, during his victory speech. And he was clearly rejecting the argument that DeSantis would be more electable in a showdown with Biden.

Despite the enthusiasm that Coulter, the Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro, Fox News' Rupert Murdoch and others on the right have expressed for DeSantis as a possible presidential candidate, Trump has had the advantage in recent polls.

In mid-May, a Morning Consult poll found that in a hypothetical matchup, Trump would defeat DeSantis by 43 percent. And a poll that CBS News/YouGov poll released earlier in the month found Trump ahead of DeSantis by 36 percent.

In the primary, Cameron — a former aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) and Kentucky's first Black state attorney general — enjoyed a double-digit victory over Kelly Craft, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

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